Sunday, November 12, 2006

Response to Cash Michaels

Mr. Michaels,

As always, I appreciate your sincere, well thought and passionate response to our post. Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and perspective with us, and our readers. While I agree with a number of the points you make, I am disappointed that you have chosen to extrapolate the content of what was presented, and what was intended, to reach some of your conclusions.

What we presented offered no conclusions, no commentary, and no words of our own. For you to conclude that we offered Mr. Harris Johnson's words as a blanket assessment of the mindset of all Durham voters requires your own jump. This conclusion of yours does not at all reflect our feelings. Obviously, Mr. Johnson's is an extreme viewpoint, as you note yourself. His words, regardless of whether they were intended to or not, commit the offenses you accuse us of perpetrating.

Our post simply presents Mr. Johnson's words, and notes the contrast between his words and the heroes that gave their lives fighting for his voting rights. We offered nothing more and nothing less.

In any event, we agree wholeheartedly that the loudest voice in the Black community, not only on election day, but also over the past few months, has been silence. We intend to opine on this conclusion as soon as hard data is available from the Board of Elections. We have never presented the opinion that the Black community in Durham is in love with Mike Nifong. I believe that is an accusation we have reserved for Bob Ashley.

Your assessment that we speak only from the perspective of outsiders is also an unfair conclusion that you draw on your own. Nearly half of our number currently reside, or have resided in Durham. We are not unfamiliar with the community, nor with the circumstances and sentiments you cite as examples.

Your suggestion that we cannot attack Black racism, while leaving White racism alone is duly noted. To that end, we have been diligent, on both the blog, and our message board to delete the hateful messages posted in both directions. In fairness, please accept and acknowledge that LieStoppers does not condone race bashing or baiting in any direction on the pages of the blog.
Quite frankly, as is pertinent to the discussion of the Hoax, LieStoppers is inundated daily with messages of hatred and bigotry mostly in one direction, and thus we respond accordingly. A day has not passed over the past three months without me being called a racist, either by comments on this blog, or via email. On a personal level, these vile accusations have given rise to considerable introspection.

Admittedly, in my nearly forty years on this earth, I have never been exposed to racism and bigotry so directly. Whether by willful ignorance or protective parenting, I have treaded this world oblivious to the reality that racism is alive and real. For me, racial hatred has been a notation in a History book, an oddity limited to extremist and terrorists, and not a deep seeded reality surrounding me. While I now understand that my perspective was naive, to say the least, the awakening compels me to examine this racism and bigotry. Given the context of the current injustice that I feel equally compelled to speak out against, this examination is very finely tuned.

Cash, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that I've never been exposed to racism or bigotry. No Hispanic in this country lives their life without some exposure to it. Realistically, though, it has been mild. Sure, I've been called "nigger" and "spic" on occassion. But, I can recall only one instance as a child when those words were uttered while being physically assailed (I still wear proudly, 28 years later, the scar on my forehead from that one incident) and one other occasion when a rock with a note, as vile as those hurled now by email in reverse, was thrown through our window. But those random occasions have been few and far between. Not only have they been random, but they've also been long past and mild in comparison to what we witness now.

For the most part, my experience as a minority has been uneventful and positive. I have never once felt impeded or hindered by my heritage or the color of my skin. I find it difficult to imagine that my perspective is unique although I do concede that my Anglo last name and, relatively, light complexion might be a factor. I am proud of my heritage, do not apologize for attending a university on a minority scholarship and intend to continue to speak from the perspective that racism and bigotry, in any direction, is an extreme, to be chastised, and not the norm to be accepted or feared.

I do not see the world through race colored glasses and struggle to understand those who do. For this reason and the relevancy to the Hoax, I find myself compelled to examine further the complexities of the blatant racism as expressed by individuals such as Mr. Johnson and community leaders in the context of the Hoax. I am aghast at the deception that has fueled the Hoax and firmly believe that, in no small part, the fears and preconceptions of segments within the Black community of Durham have been preyed upon. With this in mind, I fully intend to continue my examination of racism from the perspective of a minority who is offended by other minorities saddled by their own hatred, and those who seek to advantage themselves of such.

You may choose to argue against me in this regard, or you may decide to continue to offer direction and advice, or you may opt to join me in crossing this divide. Regardless of what you decide, my path remains firm. In any event, I do sincerely appreciate your response and will be pleased to make it available to our readers.

Best regards,

Philip Wood

89 comments:

Anonymous said...

The readers of Liestoppers will remember that Cash Michaels was AWOL in the weeks preceding the election. He always speaks in vague terms when referencing the criminal behavior of Nifong so that he can maintain some sort of peace with his own following. Harris Johnson's remarks were outrageous for a man who once was head of the Durham County Democratic Party and who as a result continues to have influence in the black community and no doubt influence in their voting patterns. Liestoppers lived up to its name by sharing this story with its readers.

One suggestion to Cash Michaels as he laments that the families of the Duke 3 were able to post bond and hire attorneys would be to read KC Johnson's piece on how the Durham DA's office has handled rape allegations over the past 12 months. Perhaps he will be shocked at just how low some of the bonds have been, that many of the accused were represented by lawyers paid for by the taxpayers of NC and the large numbers of those cases that were either dismissed entirely for lack of evidence or plead down to lesser charges. While KC Johnson did not do a study to determine whether or not the majority of these cases represented black on black crime, assuming that they probably were, Cash Michaels should be asking why the DA's office doesn't seem to take those cases seriously. We all know the DA has broken all of his own rules in this case and that it what we should be disturbed about. No a blogger writing a piece exposing the ignorance of some of Durham's community leaders.

Anonymous said...

Cash Michaels:
"They want to make sure that regardless of guilt or innocence, this case at least is handled properly by the court."
In a case where the evidence including DNA shows there was no rape the proper handling of this case would be to dismiss it.
Of course that wouldn't deliver the pound of flesh demanded by the other side.
I find it interesting how even on blogs and chat rooms where he freely gives his opinions, Cash never states what his beliefs on the case are.

Anonymous said...

Cash takes great offense that the lacrosse players were watching the two exotic dancers perform, yet he seems to care little that the accuser performs nightly this same act or worse in roadside dives, or that she performs while drug shopping for her alleged pain, and on the words of a recent witness is passed out drunk nightly, having to be dragged out into the parking lot on one occasion. Where is the outrage, Cash? Do the sisters make you proud?

Anonymous said...

Cash is your going to be a racist, be a good racist. Sorry you don't know how. You only see things one way, I do not.

kcjohnson9 said...

I have praised some of Cash Michaels' work on this case.

It disappoints me in this instance that he elects not to condemn Harris Johnson's comments--indeed, he rationalizes them.

Johnson is a former Democratic Party official in Durham--hardly a marginal figure. His comment deserves condemnation from all sides.

Anonymous said...

When other black leaders in Durham remain silent, they allow Harris Johnson to speak for all Black people in Durham...

Anonymous said...

Liestoppers:
I'm a big fan, but you lost me after "sincere, well thought"....

Anonymous said...

I've lived in NC for almost five decades. I would argue that politics as usual in Durham are hardly representative of the rest of the state. Black demagogues like Harris Johnson would have had a hard time reaching positions of leadership anywhere but Durham. Makes me wonder how organizations like the American Institute of CPA's which moved its operations from NJ to Durham feel about their decision now....

Anonymous said...

Hmmmmm

Sounds like Cash just gave you the slapdown. I bet that hurt! (huh)

Anonymous said...

Cash,
You are not interested in truth or justice. If the colors of the alleged victim and the alleged perpetrators were reversed, you would be hysterically screaming about the modern day Scottsboro boys and a racially motivated hoax persecution. Ed Bradley was bigger than that. That's why he was a big- time well respected journalist, while you are a small-time racially driven propagandist. But in your small mind Ed was probably a sellout, right Cash.

Anonymous said...

Hey Cash, add another hero to the list of those who have served the cause of payback by poking the white man's justice system in the eye: OJ Simpson, Mikey Jackson, Mikey Nifong. But my educated guess is: You wouldn't want your sister to marry OJ. And you wouldn't send your kids to the Mikey Jackson Daycare Center? And you wouldn't want your daughter working in a DA's office that tolerated sexual harassment. And you surely wouldn't like it if your son or any other black man was being run over by the Mikey Nifong railroad. You are a hypocrite.

Anonymous said...

Cash seems to have forgotten the words of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Anonymous said...

Cash is not stupid. He knows the truth. But he doesn't have the guts to face up to the mob and tell it.

Anonymous said...

What is wrong with you people? Tell me, why do you not want this case to be decided in a courtroom? Are you afraid? If the boys are innocent, there should be no problem...right???

Anonymous said...

OK if it is a courtroom of impartial jurors and not a lynch mob out to revenge past wrongs.

Anonymous said...

2:38
I think what people who believe that the boys are innocent want, is to get a pair of fresh eyes to look at this case.
There is a real conflict of interest here in letting Nifong continue with it.
Police tapes have already disappeared. Why would that happen if the case is so strong?

Anonymous said...

Cash's latest article

http://wilmingtonjournal.blackpressusa.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=73982&sID=4

Here Cash trolls the blogs to find the most incendiary, insulting comment he can find from an anonymous poster, whom he uses as a spokesman for the Lacrosse team supporters.Further to inflame racial hatred against the boys.

But he is having the vapors about having Harris Johnson, a leader of the NAACP quoted in the Liestopper article.

Cash, we see your game. Until you apply your own standard to yourself, you cannot have respect.

Anonymous said...

Cash has done good honest work in commenting on this case.

But good honest journalism would also have him repudiating the remarks of Harris Johnson. Cash can't ever seem to refer to the supporters of the lacrosse players without commenting that some of those supporters have made vile racist comments. Cash seems to be saying the failure of the supporters to condemn those comments mean the supporters' pleas for justice should not be considered as seriously.

The point is that the racist comments by a few anonymous cretins against the accuser don't mean the players are guilty or should be railroaded. Any more so than the racist comments by cretins like Johnson mean the entire Durham black community cares nothing for justice.

Racist comments by people on all sides should be repudiated by people on all sides. And we need to keep our eye on the main issue here: justice or lack thereof.

Anonymous said...

"What is wrong with you people? Tell me, why do you not want this case to be decided in a courtroom? Are you afraid? If the boys are innocent, there should be no problem...right???

2:38 PM"

Wrong. I have a big problem with the fact that someone accused of a crime has to go on trial without any evidence to support the accusation.
If you personally were accused of a crime, would you be eager to go on trial to prove your innocence? Spending considerable money to defend yourself, I might add?
Somehow I doubt it.

Anonymous said...

And if a fresh pair of eyes were to look at the case and decide to continue on.....then you would complain about that also. Let a trial take place, for pete's sake!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I get it now. Anyone can make an accusation and they are guaranteed a court trial. Oh wow. I was under the impression that the police and DA had to investigate to verify the accusation was grounded in reality. Now I understand why the court system is so crowded and it takes a year to get a trial. Gee, I hope nobody accuses me or you of something. We will have to stand trial for it even if there is no evidence. We will have to stand trial because the police and the DA don't have to interview us even if we ask them to. Golly, even if I can prove I didn't do it, I'll have to wait until trial to prove I didn't do it.

Anonymous said...

2:38 PM, how much are you paying for this party?

Anonymous said...

After 7 months, with all the criticism, the DA is still continuing forward. I think he may have something big on the guys.

Anonymous said...

3:51 yeah right.

Anonymous said...

Cash one of your own, on national TV, in front of 70 million viewers said these 3 players did not say racist remarks. So why should these 3 be sacrificed to cure the problems of the world.

Anonymous said...

3:51
That's exactly what he wants you to believe! (If it were true, these defense attorneys would be looking for a plea quicker than a NY minute.)

Sorry, there is no crime here.

Anonymous said...

3:32
And if the Duke 3 were acquitted at the trial, you would be complaining that they bought their innocence.
Face it, a trial in Durham resolves nothing.

Anonymous said...

4:02

Some....tried to buy the election.

Anonymous said...

Cash, to use your own words, which the way you wrote would infer that the team requested 2 AA dancers for their deviant pleasure, when the truth is, and you know it CASH, they requested two either white or hispanic dancers and did not request AA dancers. But CASH you won't admit that because it goes against your skewd views. They did not make this a white elitist abusing the sexuality of Black women, you and Nifong and the MSM did.

CASH your quote and words:

"commpare the disgraceful behavior of a predominately white university team at a drunken, perverted party - pictures of which were shown on "60 Minutes" and literally shocked, saddened and dismayed Durham's Black community (I know for a fact that those still pictures of the players sitting around, alcohol in hand, watching two Black women making out with each other for the pleasure of white males,"

Now that you finished reading what you wrote, CASH, please at this time apoligize to the team for furthering the "the team is racist" statement. What makes it worse is that you have just accused Liestoppers and all others of what you have just accomplished with that one statement.

Thank you.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone noticed that in the weeks just prior to the election Cash was no where to be found. Now that the election is over, he is suddenly back on his soapbox singing the same old opera. Looks like the NAACP has given him some new marching orders. Cash, your credibility is gone, no one is listening.

Anonymous said...

10:23 You are absolutely right "well thought" is a poor choice if words..at least in this case.

Anonymous said...

To 5:19pm - Sounds like Cash was disappointed he wasn't invited to the party. If he would like an encore, I am sure Precious would give him one at the Platinum Club (that is if she isn't on the floor passed out).

Anonymous said...

Those two women were making out with each other for M-O-N-E-Y. You have tried shamelessly to make the Accuser some typical black woman. She is typical of no black woman I know.

Earlier, she was using a vibrator for M-O-N-E-Y. She was trolling motels all night long, looking for business, leaving her children to be picked up by drivers.Most black women are fiercely good mothers.

She was pole-dancing with vigor on the night of the vigil.
No one exploits her. She's a business woman, apparently quite successful at selling her "product."

She makes more in a night than most single mothers black, or white make in a week. She lives, when not at strip clubs and motels, with her parents. Most single mothers, black and white aren't that lucky.

Claiming ANYONE exploited HER demeans all hard working Mothers, black and white, who work long hours at respectful jobs to provide for their children, with dignity and self respect.
She is no typical black woman, Fool.

Anonymous said...

Cash when you get some time, why don't you track down that "couple" that Precious performed for before the lax party. You know the one where she degraded herself in fron of the "couple" at the motel using her well used vibrator on her self. Then you can decided whether they are racist too. While you are at it let's call every jerk that watches her naked on the pole a racist and a rapist, too. You and your friends have picked the wrong poster girl and now you are stuck with her.

Regarding costs I'm no expert but what could it cost for Precious to undergo a polygraph test by an experienced objective expert. Maybe $5,000. So do it. Why should the parents have to waste a million dollars each for their defense attorneys? It just ends up being the costliest Durham DA election in history.

Anonymous said...

This case is not about race, gender or Cash, period.

Wasted broadband space IMO.

SouthernGirl2 said...

5:24

Wrong! The community has nothing but respect for Cash Michaels. Cash happens to be a leader, a role model to many, and a great journalist. Stop your evil lies about him right now. You don't want to hear the truth, only your twisted version of it. There is nothing you can say that would make me or anyone else in the community think otherwise. Cash Michaels shoots from the hip, and pulls no punches. If you're looking for him to buckle and go against what he believes in, then you are incredibly mistaken. In my opinion.... You and others like Michael Gaynor wanted the 60 lie to be the end of the duke case but it didn't happen as you thought. Your plan didn't work. Face it.... this case will continue on despite your rantings. And one more thing.... this case will be tried in Durham. Got that!

Anonymous said...

I thought Justice58 was banned for her filty mouth and attacks. Here we go again.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Most of America never heard of Cash until the hoax and he will be out of our lives when this is over. No awards or prizes for his work, He writes like Holloway and is almost never understandable. This is so sad - to realize that whatever we do is not enough for the Black commmunity - just like the folk who burn American flags on TV. Let us mpt treat tjos guy like he is SOMEBODY because he is not. Duke can thank its lucky stars that Baker went to Vanderbilt (he looks like a job hopper and has a shelf life in any instituation.) I bet Vandy is saying "whose idea was it to hire this guy?"

Anonymous said...

Cash-

You and I both know that Harris Johnson is not some wacko but somebody who feels free to say whatever hateful thoughts come into his head....knowing he will never get called on it.

And you know well his attitude is in fact mainstream black Durham's (as you call it) opinion.

And that's a problem.

Because Harris Johnson's views are racist, xenophobic and hateful to the core.

You can write 2000 word screeds to try to cloud the issues but that doesn't change things.

You should condemn Harris Johnson for hate speech...then we can talk about what "black Durham" is thinking.

Otherwise, the time is long past to move this trial out of Durham.

And leave the black community to stew in its own revenge-filled fantasies.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if Mr. Michaels realizes who the real racists have been in this whole sordid affair. No, I am not talking about the black people of Durham. The black people of Durham are indeed victims of a newer and more devious form of racism than seen ever before. However, the perpetrators of this racist crime are not Duke students or the accused players. The REAL racist is Mike Nifong.

Mike Nifong has used the fears and insecurities of the African American community to his own advantage. Frankly, I don't blame the African American people of Durham for believing Nifong's lies. My girlfriend described the situation in the following way: There is a battered woman who has just begun dating again. Her neighbor makes up some stories about how the new date was seen earlier in the day shaking his fist at a woman. Post-traumatic stress causes the battered woman to dump the guy and buy the neighbor lunch for saving her from a bad relationship. The neighbor is Nifong, and the battered woman is the African American community. Because the community has been victimized by racism in a traumatic way in the past, it cannot be expected to immediately detach itself emotionally from any situation where race is perceived to be a factor. Initially there was no indication that race was factor. Nifong, seeing opportunity for personal gain, MADE race the single most important aspect of the case. One that happened, the "battered woman" began seeing ghosts of her old abusive husband. Simply put, he exploited the emotional vulnerability of the African American community.

So it is clear that Nifong has gained. What has the African American community lost and continue to lose? One, detached outsiders will look at the battered woman and question her logic in pushing aside a guy with potential. In essence, the community will be held in lower esteem by outsiders. It might be unfair, but it is damn near guaranteed to happen. Mr. Michaels must surely see that, nationally, Durham's reputation is the one being tarnished by Mike Nifong's lies. Also, you have the new date, Duke, which actually has a lot in common with the lady (Durham) than her neighbor has let on (40% of Duke students are minorities and a great number of them are on scholarship). There is a lot of potential for mutual gain lost as a result of Mike Nifong's lies.

We all speak in terms of language that we have seen before. Unfortunately, Mike Nifong's racism is unlike the overt racism of the past. People looking for racism in the Rape Hoax continue to couch their language in the existing language of racism. For example, they say that the lacrosse players are guilty of sexually degrading black women by the mere act of hiring them to strip. While convenient to a writer because the language and logic of denouncing this kind of behavior has already been described and denounced by others in the past, the situations are in fact largely different. The culture of sex in America has changed vastly since the 50s. Sexual behavior of all kind is a social norm rather than the exception. One cannot simultaneously claim that watching black women strip has the same social meaning today as it did in the 50s is patentedly intellectually dishonest. Today, no matter what the race of the stripper, stripping is about sexuality first and sexuality last.

Similarly, rich white boys getting away with crime against African Americans is the old meme of racism. Today's racism is not that simple to describe. Today's racism is complicated. Today's racism involves white people in power (like Mike Nifong) inflaming the fears of black people to prevent them from putting racist past of this nation past them. No one can deny that a battered woman cannot enter into a meaningful relationship without first learning to trust another man. Today's racism involves white men in power watching and doing nothing (NC Bar, Governor Easeley) while another white man (Nifong) scares them into doing things he wants. It is an elaborate form of Neo-slavery where the slaves don't even realize that they have been enslaved.

Now that this view has been presented, intelligent people like Mr. Michaels may immediately spot a parallel between President Bush's policy of scaring the American people into doing whatever he wants. Yes, in America today, the Republicans scare white people into unfairly treating black people while Democrats scare black people into unfairly treating white people. Maybe the two parties are in cahoots.

I sincerely hope that Mr. Michaels, being one of the respected voices in the African American community, will do something to expose the racist context of Mike Nifong's campaign of terror. I sincerely hope that people like Mr. Michaels will stand up and be counted amongst the true, brave, and clear-eyed leaders of the African American community by declaring that he will no longer be shaken by Mike Nifong's lies. I hope that he will also stand up and expose the so-called leaders of the African community like Harris Johnson and Finesse Couch, who are complicit in the enslavement of their own people by supporting Mike Nifong's lies in exchange for personal gain. They are no different then black slave drivers who lynched black men in the ante-bellum era.

Mr. Michaels, please do the right thing. The black people of Durham, nay, the African Americans everywhere, need you to take to be among the first to take this step along with other black men of integrity like Ed Bradley and Professor James Coleman. We are counting on you.

Anonymous said...

9:36 WOW!One of the best posts I have seen since the Duke Hoaz began.

Anonymous said...

I am always amazed at self proclaimed or so called spokemen for the "black community" always having such high expectations for "white folk" and yet such low expectations of themselves.

Is it too much to expect Michaels, Joyner, Harris, NC NAACP et.al to exhibit the same character qualities they demand when it is to their "group" benefit.

darby

SouthernGirl2 said...

9:36
Mike Nifong is not the enemy here. He is only doing his job like any good prosecutor should. I have no doubt that the right person won and it' s good thing for Durham.

Anonymous said...

Anony 3:59 said: "Cash one of your own, on national TV, in front of 70 million viewers said these 3 players did not say racist remarks. So why should these 3 be sacrificed to cure the problems of the world."

Because Kim is an "embezzler;" she emailed a PR firm to ask how she could benefit from her role in the case; and, she has "changed her story" many times. Those are always the descriptions of Kim when Cash includes her in any articles. (The latter being a lie that he continues to perpetuate.)

When Cash mentions the AV, he never mentions that she was convicted of crimes, also, or that she has changed her story many times (which are in writing in the case file, by the way, something Cash will not find regarding Kim's stories).

Cash never fails to tell the readers of his Entertainment Column the following:

"“DON’T FORGET “OUR HEARTS” – If you haven’t already, make sure you drop by www.ourheartsworld. com, the community-based website created and developed as an outreach effort to give emotional and inspiration support to “Our Sister” survivor of the Duke lacrosse alleged rape case, who has been the target of vile, racist attacks. No matter what the truth, no one deserves that.

NO MATTER WHAT THE TRUTH? Where is the outrage for boys being called, accused, indicted as RAPISTS? Where is the outrage for the vile racist remarks made by Chan, Johnson, and Kim Roberts against the white boys? Do they deserve that?

I think we know Cash's position on that.

Twaddlefree

Anonymous said...

I have just read Cash's piece that is in the "news" section of the WJ, today. This is a despicable piece of "journalism." Since when did anonymous posts on blogs and discussion forums become quotable news. Michaels has shamelessly played a race card by combing the internet for comments to incite the black community against anyone who "supports" the defendants. This is his way to payback Liestoppers for daring to expose Johnson's racist comment to a far wider sphere than Michaels could ever hope to reach. He is deliberately poisoning this community against the white defendants.

Cash is a disgrace to his profession. He couldn't find a single LOCAL person that has the same standing in the community that Johnson has to quote? No, at least no one who would say what he WANTED in order to portray all supporters of the defendants and detractors of Nifong the way he wanted to portray them. He wanted to portray those who voted against Nifong as racists, pure and simple.

With 51% of those voting against Nifong, there are plenty of individuals who could give their reasons for voting against Nifong. There are plenty of KNOWN citizens of Durham that would have commented. THAT message, however, is not what Cash wanted to be known.

Cash Michaels is dishonest and doesn't deserve space on this board to spew his racist agenda. This "news" piece has fully exposed him for what he is.

End of any debate with Cash on this issue. He made his choice.

http://wilmingtonjournal.blackpressusa.com/news/Article/Article.asp?NewsID=73982&sID=4

Twaddlefree

Anonymous said...

you all are just mad cash called you out for your hypocrisy in putting up that offensive story trying to equate the dead civil rights saints with the morally loathsome duke 3 who have shown sexist and racist behavior and perverted interests like sodomy and american psycho. there is no comparison and the white civil rights workers who laid down their lives are revered in the black community. there have even been black chuch fans with the images of the three you posted on liestoppers which is why it was so offensive that cash and other posters have spoken out about it. it was a miscalculation and it shows the blatant racial insensitivity that got this whole mess started. and I wish you all would stop saying the accused did not use racial slurs. maybe the dialing-for-dollars ho kim roberts said no but the accuser said the men raping her called her a n----b--- when the rape began in her statement so it is not proven the duke 3 did not say anything racist.

Anonymous said...

to 9:36 poster:

Outstanding Post!!

One of the best I've read during the past 7 months and needs a larger audience.

to Justice58 and yer 12:57:

"Mike Nifong is not the enemy here. He is only doing his job like any good prosecutor should."

You cannot be serious. Do you honestly feel that pandering a community, violating civil rights, butchering a felony investigation, lying under oath, and basically acting like an ass is "doing his job"?

It's comments like yours that totally destroy all credibilty and hope in having others understand your point of view. Disgusting!!!

Anonymous said...

Noticed that Justice58 is back on the scene and already a number of comments have been deleted. We would all be better off to ignore this poster. Her ignorance and racism is not worth dignifying.

Anonymous said...

To: 4:46...

You're really not helping your cause. You are only reinforcing the negative stereotype (obviously with much basis in truth) that the only way white folk can garner favor in the black community is by doing things for the benefit of the black community. Like dying....

"white civil rights workers who laid down their lives are revered in the black community."

Secondly, you state...

"there have even been black chuch fans with the images of the three you posted on liestoppers which is why it was so offensive that cash and other posters have spoken out about it."

I'll tell you what is really offensive..

black churches..
black community..
black radio..
black entertainment tv...
black press..
congressional black caucus..
black leaders..
black colleges..
African American studies..
black appreciation month..
national association for the advancement of colored people..

Ask yourself how offended you would be if there were so many overtly exclusive non-black associations given credibility and acceptance by "polite society".


Only after you divorce yourself from the slavery of race group think, will you be able to see the issues for what they are instead of what you wish them to be. See the issues through the eyes of a parent of similarly aged children, or a lawyer or LEO familar with proper legal procedure, or a citizen concerned about a corrupt and obusive government.

If we viewed these issues based on what we have in common, instead of what makes us different, I'm confident there would be a lot less offense intended and a lot less taken.

darby

Anonymous said...

I really don't think it matters how people view race issues.

No matter how one views the issue of race, there's still no evidence of a rape.

Anonymous said...

you may not like it but that is one way for whites to be revered in the black community. those whites who went beyond the usual hate and negelect of their race and helped our community are revered. JFK, RFK also appeared on chuch fans as well, often right next to MLK in the pictures. JFK,RFK were considered to be whites who were trying to help the civil rights movement and so was LBJ and FDR. Notice how black people also loved Clinton who is someone they felt embraced our community and tried to help our economic status by reforming welfare(many working blacks detest welfare too). Also notice how blacks did not come out for Reagan's lying in state or funeral--they would not have pissed on Reagan if he was on fire alive or dead as they felt Reagan was a racist who made the first speech in his campaign in Pulaski Tenn,, famous in the south as the birthplace of the KKK and whose policies caused widespread economic problems for white and black alike. You all on this blog have unwittingly made a bit of a martyr of Nifong as well but only time will tell if he lives up to it. I do know this, he was getting hugs and high fives at the NCCU homecoming parade and people were saying stuff like "keep up the good work" and "keep on fighting for justice , Mr. Nifong, dont let them(you can imagine who "them" is and it is not the black community)get you down" and "keep your head up, you are doing the right thing." white criticism made a martyr out of Nifong and delivered 95% of the black vote for him and won the election.

Anonymous said...

Will we ever get back to the evidence in this case?

Anonymous said...

12:23 - So what you are saying is what the student from NCCU said, it does not matter what the facts of this case are, you don't care, just as long as the three white, no correction, all white people no matter what their past are should pay for the past of others? Guilt or Innocence matters not, what only matters is that Liefong persocute these boys. Is that what you are saying, if so, that is a very very sad and dangerous statement. I really hope not.

Anonymous said...

12:49 PM, what evidence? There is none.

Anonymous said...

12:23 what does that have to do with whether a rape occurred?

Anonymous said...

That black people continue to ignore
1) the absence of evidence that the players are guilty, and
2) the presence of evidence that the players are innocent
is mind-boggling. The black people I went to church with back in Chicago were very skeptical people. They would call someone like Nifong on his BS. What's happened?

The evidence is pretty much a matter of public record. Instead of relying on Nifong's lies or paranoid rumors about power white Dukies from the north, there must be some people in the black community who will actually go through the documents that have been made public and expose this fraud. By continuing to believe this BS, they make themselves look like fools, the kind of ignorant circus-and-bread hoi polloi that conservatives often see them as.

I mean, ED FREAKIN BRADLEY, probably among the top 10 most respected journalists in the country looked at the story. Is he not a black man? Is he not among the heroes who helped expose racism in the past? Is he not far more credible than Nifong and local black leaders? Why trust them before Ed Bradley? Do they think that Ed Bradley would more easily be fooled by rich white folks than Nifong? Do they think that Ed Bradley would compromise his integrity in exchange for something from rich white men? Do they honestly think that Ed Bradley, a man who was not only dedicated to fair reporting, but also showed it through the hundreds of 60 Minutes episodes, would put out a story that was 100% in favor of one side (the players) without checking the evidence for fairness?

I have a headache. We live in a world where some people trust Nifong and Friends more than Ed Bradley.

Anonymous said...

12:23

Haha, by that logic, shouldn't you be embracing the people who have revealed that Nifong is a liar? After all, by buying the cr*p coming from Nifong's mouth, the black community has looked totally moronic to the rest of America (nay, the rest of the world; check some international papers). Yeah, the people criticizing Nifong are doing so in hopes that black people in Durham will stop ridiculing themselves before the world. Yeah, they're doing it for you, too.

Oh, right. I forgot. You won't accept any scenario in which you have to admit wrongdoing or ignorance. You would rather people cover for Nifong to cover your own ignorance. Instead of admitting that you have looked ridiculous because of Nifong and ending your own ridiculous behavior as many good people are advising you, you would rather pretend that your behavior is not ridiculous. They say black people have a lot of pride. That is all fine and good. But the amount of pride that's been shown in this case borders on biblical. You know, the kind of ridiculously oversized pride that forces the Lord Almighty to throw down a thunderbolt or force you under the thumb of Babylonians.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and one day, some prosecutor, as they have done in the past, will pull a Nifong on some black defendants in a heavily white community. And the black kids accused...WILL NOT deserve it. Do you know why? Because NO ONE deserves to be treated the way Nifong has treated the Duke Three.

Anonymous said...

12:23...

Thanks again for not helping your cause.

That you would openly admit the "black community" would vote for a candidate simply because they know the "white communtiy" disapprove is so unbelievably racist and shallow it defies credulity.

It was proved to the world before with Marion Barry. I suppose we should not be surprised it continues with Nifong.

darby

Anonymous said...

This "community " in Durham seems to feed on rumor and innuendo, not logic. That is what is making them look so diminished. People said, that people said, that Cousin Jackee said, this is what passes for fact.
The hard facts of the case are dismissed.Ignored, as if they can't absorb them. And Cash reports it that way which adds to diminishing his community.

It's either ignorance or willful ignorance.

Anonymous said...

If this were three black players accused and the same total lack of evidence was apparent, Jesse jackson and al Sharpton would have half the federal government agencies in durham investigating this thing...anyone doubt that?

Anonymous said...

Which church will be first to have the Mike Nifong fan? Any bets?

Anonymous said...

That the black community gives any respect to frauds like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton is probably a good indicator of its tenuous grasp on reality. The fact that white people continue to give Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton undue respect is probably a good indicator of their tenuous grasp of reality. You don't have to be black to be wrong about Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton. White people are wrong about them too. All you have to be is stupid.

Anonymous said...

Understanding the workings of a DAs office pretty well, I can assure you that if the DA had any "smoking gun" some of that info would have been "leaked" out by now. Especially in a state like NC that has open discovery rules. I have spoken to many lawyers and NONE, and that includes ones that work in DA offices, think that Nifong has a case. The ones that work for the state may publicly defend Nifong, but privately they wonder what the hell he could be thinking.

Anonymous said...

^^The lack of DNA did it for me. Nifong could have a "video" of the alleged rape and it wouldn't matter.

Anonymous said...

Outstanding read from The Johnsville News:

Durham Village Light Your Torches

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Uh, I think d9393 was being ironic. Yeah, the best "word" is from the street. Sort of like Prof. Holloway's "cultural facts", that "word" has no relation to real facts, yet for some people it is more important than the truth.

Anonymous said...

Bad Link at 7:04 PM. Here's the link to The Johnsville News:

Durham Village Light Your Torches

Anonymous said...

As a group, black people are by far the most racist people on earth, seeing virtually EVERYTHING through a prism of race, and a "pack-mentality" contest of black versus white. In fact, you can ask the average black person WHY they vote Democrat, and instead of giving you a policy explanation concerning ideology, they'll say "because Republicans are racist". Obviously, the Democratic party understands this, because every election season they trot out the Confederate Flag debate, which of course fires up the black electorate. Blacks are the Democrats' "house negroes", always doing as they're told.

Amazingly, Muhammed Ali even successfully turned blacks against Joe Frazier and George Foreman simply by portraying them as agents of "the white man", which they weren't.

In the Duke Rape Hoax, blacks are completely unconcerned with the facts of the case, they have defined the anti-Nifong forces as "white", so therefore they take the anti-white position, giving Nifong 95% of the black vote. It's really quite predictable.

And what's funny is...as much as blacks like to say "We Are Not A Monolith"...they ARE monolithic in many ways. Of course, the ones who do NOT follow the black group-think are called "uncle Tom's" or "oreos".

I'd like to go on record right now...and I hope that others will follow my lead...as saying that IF the accuser was white, and IF the accused were black, and all else held constant...I would be JUST AS ADAMANT that the rape charges be dropped, that the accuser be arrested for making false charges, and that Mike Nifong be removed from office.

Will any of you Nifong-supporters go on record and say that IF the accuser was white and IF the accused were black, you would STILL want this case to go to trial???

One more thing...Cash Michaels, you are a disgrace. You are so utterly fearful of infuriating your readers by speaking the truth, that you engage in fence-sitting double-speak of the worst kind. How sad that you have such low regard for your own manhood. Perhaps you witnessed the rage with which blacks turned on Geraldo when he dared say OJ was guilty. Oh well, you have no soul, but at least you still have your readers.

Anonymous said...

duke09parent said...
Uh, I think d9393 was being ironic. Yeah, the best "word" is from the street. Sort of like Prof. Holloway's "cultural facts", that "word" has no relation to real facts, yet for some people it is more important than the truth.

7:37 PM
____________________

Irony does not preclude the racial tone of the post. Racism is racism no matter what direction it comes from.

Anonymous said...

9:38 -- Tell that to Sasha Baron Cohen about his creation of Borat.

Anonymous said...

Oh right the sister had to do this to "feed her babies". How much you want to bet she hasn't reported her income to the IRS and that she was feeding her babies on welfare and food stamps.

Anytime you don't like what someone says you say they sold out. Ed Bradley, Professor Coleman, Elmostafa these should be your/our heros but you choose to ignore them.

Anonymous said...

1. ed bradley was a sellout and an uncle tom. other than doing his job and being token negro on 60 minutes, what causes did he support? what marches did he do? his collegue mentioned in the article, mrs hunter-gault, was a person who integrated a school system ans was a REAL black heroine unlike ed bradley. Sorry, bradley was well known but not beloved in the black community because he never spoke up for the community publiclly and the duke lacrosse profile was proof of this; he put the white man's agenda above our community's. people like him and Prof Coleman do not have a lot of support in the black community, not when you compare them with people like Jesse jackson who was with MLK as he lay dying, who founded operation Push and who ran for president or Al Sharpton, who marched for civil rights in New York and who also ran for president. These are men who put themselves on the line for our community and they are respected. Whites hate them, so what? whites hate the rest of us too so we do not care about what whites think. if we really did care, we would have ceased to exist like the native americans who were defeated by the white man and lost their pride. black people survived because they had pride and took strength in each other and fought back in their own way. during slavery, they fought back with spirtiuals that let them communicate their plans to run away, they fought back by their language--the worst curse in the black community is a m---F---. know why? because it refers to the white man coming in and raping the black female in slavery in front of her children, thus a m-----f----, the lowest of the low(the word was originally mother-raper but morphed into m---f--in the 50's and 60's) so when you use that word think back to what it REALLY means. later on whites were sometimes called ofays, a curse word in some african languages and the pig latin for "foe"ie, the enemy. In reconstruction, blacks built black schools to educate themselves as whites had forbidden them to read, and later blacks fought back in the civil rights era--big time! To survive all they had to blacks had to have a lot of pride and soildarity or they would have succumbed like the native americans have; today the Indiands live on reservations and are a remnant of the proud people who roamed these shores centuries before the white man came and"discovered America."

the cabbie? a black hero? please,another uncle tom who is supporting the white agenda.only he is a bad liar and got a lot of info wrong and if you think ol Nifong will not bring up the wrong color car and the crowded yard that LE says was deserted on the stand, then you are crazy.

Anonymous said...

Cheer things up with something besides this response to the Puppet.

Thanks,
Kent

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Please explain to us how someone can look their children in the eyes knowing they are condemned to the dark side because they have filled them with so much hate. Then they whine and complain when the kids can't successfully function outside "the community" without "help".

Durham: The madrassa of the American south.

Anonymous said...

1:06 - time for bed. You must be overtired as your thought process seems to be scewed. Did you call the cab driver an "Uncle Tom" because he supports the white mans agenda? That statement in itself is why most people are very worried about this trail, because you care not about the facts just taking care of whitey, I did not capitalize white ala Cash.

Anonymous said...

1:06

Where are you beloved Sharpton and Jesse now? Haven't heard to much have you except Sharpton said he doesn't believe Precious.

Ed Bradley was his own man. Whatever causes he chose to persue were his own business. If he chose not to go public about your personal causes that's your problem.

Tell me what black causes did your hero O.J. become vocal about.He only reached out to the black community after his wife was killed.

Reading all that garbage you wrote and continue to harp on makes me wonder why was there a Civil War? Why did northerns fight for your freedom? Why didn't we just leave things the way they were?

Here is the facts. Durham is a black run town. It had every opportunity to become a model for others cities and towns. Instead this has only brought to light the corruption and injustice of Durham.

Anonymous said...

9:35 pm "Of course, the ones who do NOT follow the black group-think are called "uncle Tom's" or "oreos"."

1:06 am "ed bradley was a sellout and an uncle tom."

As predictable as day following night...

Anonymous said...

The difference between men like Ed Bradley and James Coleman compared to Sharpton and Jackson is that Bradley and Coleman have not allowed their race to define their lives. They are mature intellectually, choosing to reason with their minds, not their emotions. The AA community have been the beneficiaries of poor leadership and refuse to see the difference.

Anonymous said...

To 1:06:

Any evidence of a rape yet or will you pound racial innuendos and nonsense until some DNA magically appears?

Anonymous said...

I thank 1:06 for articulating her/his views on this. Undoubtedly those views are held by her/his friends and acquaintences. He/she of course conveniently ignores the parts of AA civil rights history that was adamantly integrationist. MLK,Jr., Andrew Young, Jesse Jackson, Medgar Evers, Charles Evers, Aaron Henry were or are all integrationists. They believed in the constitution and the bill of rights as it should apply to people of all colors. 1:06 should go back and read Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Nowhere in it is the thought that wherever Blacks have power they should do whatever they can to get whitey.

I recognize that 1:06's racist views are only those of a segment of AA community, but sadly a rather large segment.

SouthernGirl2 said...

Look

1:06 is just telling it like it is. Keep speaking the truth...1:06

Anonymous said...

Keep talking Justice and 1:06, in the long run your hatred and bias only helps.

Anonymous said...

i am not anti-integrationist, i believe in integration but i do not believe in making a hero out of people like bradley and coleman who are not people who have done a lot for our community, certainly not in comparison to Jesse jackson or sharpton, who defied the white patriarchy and helped gain rights and fought injustice. you all love to quote MLK on here but who the hell caught MLK's last breath at risk to himself as the sniper was still on the balcony for all he knew? that is right, Jesse Jackson. he marched with MLK and was jailed with him, too so anyone acting like a Jesse saying NYC is "Hymietown" invalidates all of the things Jesse has done to help the black community get equality is crazy. Jesse put the time in when you could be assassinated for working in civil rights but he still did it. Ed bradley and Coleman have done nothing even in the ball park. Sharpton, despite the Brawley debacle, also marched for rights in new York and spoke out againist police harassment. please do not presume to tell me who the black community should revere as a leader--we dcide our own leaders just like any other ethnic or economic group.

Anonymous said...

So do your leaders (Jesse and Al) have the DNA evidence to convict these boys? If not, I'm not sure why you brought them up.